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I know a woman who has lived more than 30 years after a diagnosis of estrogen-negative breast cancer. When I asked her recently if she still worried about it returning, she said, “Not really.” I love that the fear eventually goes away, but I hope it is far sooner than 30 years, as by then I will be 90 and, at the rate I am …

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, croons Andy Williams over the store’s loud speaker. Really? I think. I’m sure the retailer wants me to agree with Andy, which might mean I’ll toss some more goodies into my cart. But I am not convinced. Buying stuff does not equal happiness, nor does piped-in music mean all is wonderful. I leave the store …

Triple-negative breast cancer has caught the attention of major researchers throughout the world, which is a great thing—it means that we are learning more and more about how to prevent and treat this illness. The downside of the research popularity is that the media and medical journals have developed depressing and frightening catch phrases for it, such as deadly, particularly aggressive or, my favorite, a…

For most of my life, I have been oblivious to myself. Sure, I was pretty confident about who I was; I knew I was smart, capable, funny, but I knew this on an intellectual level, not an emotional or, most important, a physical one. In the 15 months before I was diagnosed, I had four bladder infections. Intellectually I knew something was wrong with my …

People who have lived through cancer just want to get on with their lives — head into the future like everybody else, free of cancer, free of its memory. That’s why the labels others affix to us can make us especially testy.

Take, for example, the label survivor. Please. It look me a while after diagnosis to understand why this word annoyed those who …